April 2000 - Record rainfall

A consistently wet April has led to records being broken throughout the UK

Introduction

Record rainfall

A consistently wet April has led to records being broken throughout the UK.

According to the England and Wales precipitation series (an index which begins in 1766) the total was 143 mm(using best available data/estimates on 2 May 2000) making it the wettest April since records began. Previous highest April totals were in 1782 (139 mm), 1818 (136 mm) and 1998 (133 mm). The chart below shows the series April 1766-2000.

April rain records have been broken at the following Met Office sites:

Total (mm)

Prev wettest April (mm)

Records began

Edinburgh

110.0

84.0 (1947)

1939

Lossiemouth (Morayshire)

113.3

71.5 (1977)

1951

London

113.8

100.6 (1993)

1940

Cranwell (Lincs)

113.8

94.4 (1998)

1921

Birmingham (Edgbaston)

143.4

124.9 (1961)

1897

Northolt (Middlesex)

118.6

98.7 (1983)

1948

Nottingham (Watnall)

119.4

114.9 (1989)

1941

Waddington (Lincs)

124.2

90.7 (1983)

1946

Kinloss (Morayshire)

128.7

96.0 (1998)

1951

Aberdeen

130.0

116.0 (1998)

1951

Cottesmore (Rutland)

134.9

118.1 (1998)

1961

Leeming (N Yorks)

137.4

107.1 (1983)

1945

High Wycombe (Bucks)

140.1

121.3 (1998)

1996

Dishforth (N Yorks)

142.5

106.4 (1993)

1992

Brize Norton (Oxon)

145.6

108.0 (1998)

1968

Odiham (Hants)

158.1

102.2 (1963)

1963

Bournemouth

150.6

101.7 (1966)

1951

Cardiff

151.0

144.0 (1920)

1904

Bristol

153.1

113.5 (1961)

1937

Bracknell (Berks)

160.8

106.0 (1983)

1963

Southampton

173.4

127.3 (1856)

1856

The information is based upon provisional, unquality-controlled data, from a small sample of the full network of rain gauges.